Man charged for scamming elderly woman out of $9,000

SILVER SPRING, Md. (WUSA9) -- A DC man has been charged with scamming an elderly woman out of over $9,000.

Michael Adams, 34, of Washington, D.C. has been charged with intent to knowingly and willfully obtain and deprive a vulnerable adult of property by deception, intimidation, and undue influence.

On March 28th, Adams approached an 89-year-old resident of Leisure World in the parking lot adjacent to the age-restricted community, police said. Adams offered to paint a scratch on the victim's vehicle and the two agreed the victim would pay Adams $100 for the repair, police reported.

Over the next two months, Adams and the victim met on several occasions in a Home Depot parking lot for repairs. Adams would increase the price of the repairs each time he met with the victim, police reported.

On May 1st, Adams met the victim in a parking lot near Leisure World and demanded that the victim pay him $5,000 for repairs. The victim described being "scared to death" and withdrew about $5,00 from various local banks and purchased about $3,950 in gift cards to give Adams as payment, police said.

Adams is not a certified mechanic and a professional evaluation of the victim's car revealed he had made no repairs on the vehicle. A professional estimated that the victim's car required only $460.00 in repairs, police reported.

Joseph Aaron Sammer Hooker charged with possession with intent to distribute marijuana, possession of marijuana, possession of cds: not marijuana and a firearm in a drug trafficking crime. (Photo: Anne Arundel County Police)